Archive of Our Own ^beta

“that’ll be four ninety-five. happy holidays .” 

at a little corner past the tall, sky rocketing buildings, was a bakery. it wasn’t well known like the many internet cafes spread out neo city, but some people needed bread every week and it’s here to provide. 

business is slower than normal, given that there’s school even though the roads are packed with snow, and parents are already at their cubicles trying to make extra bucks for the holidays. compared to the morning bustling with people hollering at their phones and headsets ordering a cup of joe, jeno would rather have these hours of work. he found it off though, when a boy around his age walks in with a little kid. jeno was in college, so the other must be the older brother or unlikely a parent. he glances at the boy’s fingers after he takes his gloves off once the front door behind him shuts. 

he tries not to double take though, as he’s pushing the pastries in the case towards the front. once they’re face to face, jeno could not take his eyes off him. god he’s pretty, rosy cheeks from the biting wind, small hands to remove his scarf that pop up from his oversized sweater. hopefully he didn’t leave his ring at home. 

“hi, can i help you?” jeno tries his best not to lose his stature. 

“can i just get one loaf please?” the boy on the other side of the counter asks. 

he feels a tug on his arm that is latched to the smaller kid. jeno almost forgot that the little one was there. the boy crouches down to hear what’s the child has to whisper in his ear. the boy giggles, as it’s a symphony to jeno’s ears, wanting to turn the thermostat down because he can feel his face burning. 

“and a chocolate cupcake please.” the boy requests. 

jeno snaps out of it, shaking his head quickly like those tiny puppies that shake to get dry. he takes out a big bag for the bread and a small one for the cupcake. 

“that’ll be uh…” his brain is forcing him to say this, “it’s on the house.”

“i’m sorry?” the boy asks. 

jeno realized he just murmured, “it’s on the house, you can take it for free.”

“oh...? really? i don’t mind paying at all.”

“it’s the holidays, and first customers usually get their first order free.” jeno lied straight out of his teeth and thought of that half-assed. 

“well that’s a good deal, huh ‘sung?” 

the kid looks up and nods his head. 

“thank you…” the boy tries to find his nametag, “jeno, i’ll make sure to come back here often.”

jeno runs his arm, a complete deer in headlights as he watches the boy walk out, “anytime…”

the bell dings as the two exit, making their way through the cold. jeno gives himself a slap on the forehead, wishing that could’ve gone a whole different way, as his friend mark comes in to make fun of that whole scene. mark asked if he could work at the lee family business back when the two were in high school, right now he’s trying to pay for his classes.

“and who’s gonna pay for those free pastries?” mark slings his arm onto jeno’s shoulders

“save it, i’m gonna check on the rolls.” jeno trudges to the kitchen. 

“i’ll make sure you man the register once they come back to visit!” mark reassured him. 

the it-boy came back regularly, jeno learning that his name is renjun, and that the kid is his adopted son. he’s never been in a relationship, and that he wanted to adopt because jisung was an orphan at the daycare he used to volunteer at. renjun is currently getting his teacher credentials to be an art professor, jeno just found out they go to the same uni. as months went on, renjun visited more frequently, even going there to do his homework when jeno was free. jisung would tag along tok of course, helping mark taste test new treats he wants to sell. 

renjun found out that jeno is also a business major with a food science minor, his dream being taking over the bakery one day and maybe even branching out the family business. the two practically lived another high school experience, going to school, meeting with each other after classes, and they even found time on the weekends to just hangout. with jisung by their side, they were like one happy family, and jeno never wanted that to change. 

it was until jeno found out renjun had another man in his life. 

“jisungieeeee!! time to pack, or the snow monster will come get you!” jaemin calls out from the shared bedroom, as jisung puts down his game in a playful panic and stuffs his suitcase. 

jeno and renjun are packing as well, renjun ticking off the things they completed stuffing on his phone. the three parents and child are getting ready for a christmas vacation to the mountains, specifically in the lee family’s cabin. chenle, jisung’s bestest friend in the whole world next to jaemin (as jaemin labels), invited the four over to have fun at the slopes. donghyuck and mark apparently rented out a big cabin for everyone to stay in. irene and seulgi along with their child shotaro and his friend sungchan, are invited as well. renjun was worried of how big this get together was going to be, both the size and slowing down pandemic coming into play. but donghyuck insisted, stating to the adult group chat that the cabin is a mansion, being three stories and all. of course irene called dibs for her family to take the third floor, donghyuck let renjun’s family to take the second since they are guests as well. 

“one….!two….!” jaemin creeps into jisung’s room to make sure he’s packing and not ditching his task to continue his game. 

but jisung is jam-packing his small rolling backpack as much as he can, if jaemin gets to three, the snow monster will unleash his tickling powers. 

“rah!” jaemin scares him, jisung jumping in the air and locking his case quick. 

“aww, jisungie made it once i counted to three….but the monster is still here to tickle you!” jaemin tickles the little tummy. 

“ahh! no!” jisung laughs, kicking at jaemin’s stomach for him to stop. 

the two giggle in unison, jaemin then picking him up and twirling the both of them around, hugging in between twirls. 

jeno watches from the hallway, smiling a bit, but disappearing when jisung asks jaemin to carrying him some more. jaemin was always playful around jisung, he seemed to be jisung’s favorite. he never made their meeting awkward, according to how renjun told the story. 

renjun was invited to a concert by his friends, they said they had extra tickets because a few others bailed out at the last second. of course, renjun had jisung at the time, and didn’t want to leave him alone or with a babysitter. so he asked jisung if he wanted to come, and if  he said yes, he’ll go to the concert. he didn’t know who was performing either, and when his friends mentioned it was a soloist named jaemin, renjun recognized him a bit through the many ads at the train station. 

the concert itself was exciting though, the group got mosh pit tickets, and when jisung was too tired to stand at times, renjun would carry him on his back. renjun liked jaemin’s style of music very much, he started off with his more generic, radio-friendly pop songs that sounded like what his company wanted him to perform. then to many ballads that he apparently wrote himself. the last ballad song he sang even lulled jisung to sleep. 

throughout the duration though, there were times jaemin would spot him amongst the crowd. he’s wink or wave, renjun not knowing if he was doing it at people in front of him or behind him. the girls in front of him though thought jaemin winked and waved at them, screaming their heads off or fanning themselves. renjun rolled his eyes at the scene, he felt like jaemin was a flirt. at the last song, jisung woke up from his nap and wanted to dance along. renjun let him down to bust a move, jumping up and down and laughing. the parent loved how he was having such a great time. 

jaemin took most of renjun’s attention away from jisung though, his smile was very handsome, and voice was stable despite the vigorous dance moves. he took so much of renjun’s attention that he lost sight of jisung in the crowd. once the concert ended and people were filing out to leave was when renjun finally noticed he was gone. he panicked, as his friends helped him in his search, calling jisung’s name or asking people if they’ve seen a little kid. one of the friends told renjun that he should go backstage to make an announcement, and that they wouldn’t mind since it’s a missing kid. 

renjun rushed to the back, explaining to the security guards about his situation, as they agreed to escort him to the control room. he was worried, worried sick that jisung may have been out of the arena, or worse, taken. he couldn’t control his breathing, almost having a panic attack until he saw the one and only jaemin playing with his kid. 

“aww you’re a cute little guy aren’t you. did you like my singing?” jaemin hoists him on his lap. 

renjun runs like the wind, straight up panting once he reached jaemin and had tears streaming down his face, “oh my god you found him!”

“dad!” jisung jumps off of jaemin’s lap and runs off to him. 

“jisung,” he hugs him tight, then firmly grasps his shoulders, “don’t you ever do that to me again! i was scared to death.”

“i’m sorry.” jisung looks at the ground. 

renjun sighs, “it’s not entirely your fault, i wasn’t paying much attention to you. what’s important is that you’re okay.”

“this is your son? you look young enough to be his brother.” jaemin asks. 

“yes he’s my son, adopted though, i guess i am a bit young for this parenting thing.” renjun shrugs. 

“oh i’m not saying your a bad one, sorry, i just didn’t know.”

“it’s fine, really. i get that all the time.”

“are you...a single parent?” jaemin raises a brow. 

“and why would you want to know that mr. na?”

“so formal! i was just wondering so i can take you out sometime.”

“i thought idols had this contract to not date or something?”

“true but i’m a soloist, and im sure the fans won’t mind.”

renjun looks at jisung then back at the singer, “uh huh. well we better get going, it's past his bedtime.”

“ah wait,” jaemin hands him a slip of paper, “maybe sleep on it?”

renjun looks at the slip, figuring it was jaemin’s phone number, “i’ll think about it. seems very wattpad-y for some random person to date a pop star.”

“you never know unless you try.” jaemin winks. 

“can i pack my stuffed animals?” jisung asks after jaemin puts him back down. 

“of course! they would be very lonely without you here. bring all three.” jaemin takes the little fox, puppy, and bunny and stacks them nicely. 

renjun finds jeno at the front, the garage open as he’s loading the suitcases in the trunk of the car. the oldest offers to help, noticing jeno’s slight look of distraught. it looks a bit serious, but his lips falter. 

“are you okay?” renjun asks, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

jeno snaps out of his thoughts, “oh, uh...yeah i’m fine why?”

“you just look a bit sad.” 

“just lost in my own thoughts i guess.”

“you can always tell me what’s wrong.” 

“and i appreciate it,” jeno smiles, “but we should be leaving soon. go tell jaemin and jisung to bring their stuff here.”

renjun walks away and calls back, “please?”

“please.” jeno smiles. 

jaemin filled the hour long car ride with songs and rounds of ispy. the bottles of milk on the wall song made renjun want to make a hard break and push jaemin out from the back seat. luckily jeno was blasting music in his headphones, but at some points would hear jisung and jaemin’s shrill voices singing along to deck the halls kids bops version for the tenth time. 

finally renjun pulls up to the driveway, slamming the car door behind him as a cheerful donghyuck welcomes him. renjun tosses him the keys and asks for the room with the biggest bed. mark lifts a brow and guides him inside. 

“what did you do?” donghyuck asks jaemin. 

“the two of them singed their heads off and renjun’s sanity.” jeno explains. 

“to be fair, he could’ve turned on the radio or put headphones on.” jaemin defends him and jisung. 

donghyuck looks at him funny, “isn’t that illegal?”

mark and donghyuck were right when the cabin was pretty much a mansion. even the hallways themselves looked like rooms. renjun marched up the third floor, after the first set of stairs in the center of the entrance room. he followed mark’s directions and found the room him and his family are staying in. is he sure he didn’t stumble into some presidential suite? he forgets being enthralled by the place and slumps face first on the bed. 

jeno finds him after five minutes, renjun producing little snores as his cheek is pressed onto the fresh sheets. his cheek squishes his face, jeno finding him adorable. he sets some of the suitcases on the side next to a sofa. jaemin waddles on in as well, jisung holding his left hand and cases in his right. jaemin coos at renjun’s position, inviting himself onto the bed by jumping on and rocking renjun to the other side. renjun groans, now half asleep and slapping jaemin square in the chest. jaemin yelps as jeno joins in too, diving in and kissing renjun on his red cheek. the one that was lying on the side. 

jisung follows his two fathers and hops on as well. at this point, renjun can’t seem to catch a break, maybe even on this vacation as well. the three then start to make a ruckus, rolling around with renjun sandwiched in the middle. a pillow fight breaks out all of a sudden, giggles and laughter filling the air as the three pelt each other and poor renjun. 

the oldest has had enough, “can i please sleep?!”

the three freeze in place, renjun is serious this time, now noticing the dark circles in his eyes. they settle down as renjun digs himself into the covers, laying on his side again and pressing a pillow on his ears. jaemin comes in the covers slowly, squishing his face in between renjun’s pillow and head, kissing it. 

“i’m sorry for annoying you angel.” jaemin whispers, renjun’s ear tingling. 

jeno softly elbows jisung, the child speaking up, “sorry dad.” 

no answer from renjun, just wanting to get some rest for once. 

jisung speaks again, “this may be the wrong time but can i stay in a room with chenle?” 

renjun rises from his slumber. 

jaemin gasps for dramatic impact, “and leave all your fathers alone to themselves?!” 

“i’m old enough now.” jisung pouts, playing with the sheets between his fingers. 

“what floor will you be staying in?” jeno asks. 

“second floor in the guest room. one next to aunty irene and seulgi.”

“i dunno ‘sung.” renjun rubs his eye. 

“but shotaro and sungchan get their own rooms, and they are younger than me.” 

jaemin decides to use pathos, “are you sure you and chenle won’t be scared of the dark? the howling wind at night? monsters under the bed?”

jisung’s eyes widen, gripping the sheets now as he remembers the monster in his closet. renjun rolls his eyes, giving jaemin a deserving pillow smack to the face. 

“you’ll be fine jisung, jaemin is just joking.” jeno reassures him. 

“how do you know papa?” 

“well, not a lot of things are real you know, monsters, dragons, tooth fairy, sant—“

“OKAY!” renjun covers jeno’s mouth quickly, “you may go jisung. it’s your vacation after all. if you need us we’ll be right here okay?”

“thanks dad!” jisung is already out the door in a flash, closing it behind him and giggling down the steps. 

renjun pulls the collars of both his husbands who were previously hiding in bed, “what was that?! are you crazy, scaring him? and you! telling him his imaginations aren’t real?”

“well they aren’t…” jeno murmurs. 

“are you trying to kill his creativity at such a young age?” renjun scoffs and lays back down. 

“sorry.” jaemin and jeno say in unison. 

“just… let me rest for a while.” renjun droops his eyes to a close. 

jaemin smiles, petting the little one’s hair and feeling it all the way to his neck. he brushes his bangs to the side with his palm and plants a kiss on his forehead. jaemin slowly ascends from his position and makes his way across the room to unpack. jeno follows as well, kissing the same cheek and tucking renjun in. jeno decides to clean the inside of the drawers before putting the clothes in, setting a case on the coffee table and unloading. 

jaemin playfully bumps his shoulder with jeno’s, “why’d you say that to jisung?”

jeno, “what… parents should tell the truth to their kids at some point.”

“true, but it can be hurtful,” jaemin explains, “jisung will be quite the boring person if he already learns about reality.”

jeno remembers those exact words jaemin used to describe him when they were just starting to get into a relationship with renjun. in fact, now that his memory jogs in his brain, he called him boring in a fight they had. it was probably their first and last fight, it was over something stupid too. 

“it’s my turn to take renjun on a date.” jeno argued. 

“no, we’re supposed to go on dates together. as three.” jaemin huffed. 

jeno laughed, “oh really? then what about the secret dates you would take renjun on? huh?” 

renjun appeared in the kitchen with jisung in his hand, eyebrows knitted together and other hand dropping a bag of groceries. the two fighting suddenly stop, both of their hearts dropping to their stomachs. 

“jaemin you told me jeno was busy at those times” renjun’s eyes welled, “you lied to me?” 

“no—no! there were actually times jeno was busy, really.” jaemin reaches for renjun’s arm, but the latter instinctively pulls it back. 

“i was mad at jeno because he didn’t make time for us, when you just wanted me to yourself?” 

“renjun it’s not like that.”

“yes it is!” renjun yelled, “how do you think jeno feels?”

“pretty shitty.” jeno glared at jaemin. 

“we’re supposed to be together. all of us, isn’t that what we agreed to do when i first introduced you both? i thought you guys liked each other too…” renjun backed up. 

jaemin clicked his tongue, “that’s because jeno over here is a boring person. he’d never like someone as adventurous and spontaneous as me!”

“well maybe i never liked you in the first place! maybe i just said yes so i could finally be with renjun!” jeno shouted back. 

renjun is as frozen as a statue now. he just doesn’t know how to feel right now, he thought everything was fine, he thought the two liked each other. it was all fake to be with him?

“did our agreement force you to fake all of this?” renjun asked. 

the two look at him, then back at each other. silence. 

“renjun i didn’t mean—“ jeno regretted his words. 

“no… it’s my fault.” renjun looked at the floor, “i made you feel like you didn’t have a choice. but i can’t chose just one of you. i love you both. but now…

 i guess that’s changed.”

jeno frowns a bit at jaemin, going back to the pile of suitcases, finding jisung’s. he must have left it behind while he was too busy being excited to room with chenle, his fourth favorite person in the world. jeno excused himself and takes it down to the second floor. jaemin didn’t know exactly why jeno had a shift of feeling on his face after saying that. he believed he didn’t say anything wrong in his statement, shrugging then continuing on. 

chenle and jisung are jumping on the two beds, bouncing from one to the other. the gap that was once separating them was closed once chenle asked mark to push the beds together.jeno sees them, he didn’t want to reprimand them after almost exposing fairytale creatures aren’t real to jisung. the two kids then stop in their tracks once they find jeno at the door frame. in a moment they immediately hop off onto the floor. they stare at the ground as if they are about to receive a lecture. but jeno smiles, explaining that he’s only here to deliver jisung’s suitcase. but he quickly reminds them not to jump so much since this whole place isn’t theirs to live in. jisung nods quietly, and as jeno climbes the steps to the third floor, the laughter chimes back in. 

suddenly jeno felt like one of those strict nuns at an orphanage, once he’s gone the orphans are no longer cleaning but sing about their woes. jeno shakes the thought out of his head, going back to the room to find irene and seulgi helping jaemin with the luggages. 

“oh, irene, seulgi, you don’t have to help it’s alright.” jeno rushes to take the piles of clothing out of their arms. 

“it’s no trouble really,” irene smiles, “we already finished unpacking anyways.” 

“let’s say it’s a truce because your little monkeys are on our floor and ours are now moved to yours.” seulgi grins. 

“that’s alright with us.” jeno scratches the back of his head. 

“don’t worry, they're as well behaved as… well, more than jisung.” seulgi adds. 

irene elbows her wife’s arm, “they will be no trouble at all, and i know jisung is quite the angel.”

“yes he is! my pride and joy.” jaemin agrees. 

“you mean renjun’s” jeno mutters under his breath. 

“is you husband alright by the way?” seulgi seems concerned with the short man’s disheveled hair, and awkward position. vertical half of his body out of the sheets, and the rest in the covers. 

“it was a long car ride.” jeno smiles at the two, then gives a look at jaemin. the other then lifts a brow. 

a few hours after the three families have taken naps while their children ran around and played within their rooms, donghyuck calls everyone for dinner. he tells them mark ordered food for everyone, buying pounds of korean meat and setting small barbecue grills on the table. mark is already lighting up the grills once they all are downstairs, everyone cheering, and the adults cheering once donghyuck brings out the drinks. chenle pats the seat next to him, gesturing jisung to sit next with him. after getting his plate from the separate table, jisung skips to his seat next to chenle. 

once everyone has settled down to cook the meat, donghyuck raises a toast. the adults holding soju and beer, and the kids holding up juice in plastic cups. renjun has noticed as the kids eat, chenle tends to grab lots of meat for himself and renjun, while sungchan and shotaro patiently wait for chenle to finish. donghyuck notices this too, starting to lecture his son. 

“chenle, you already have too much, save some for the others.” 

chenle freezes in place, looking at the kids across from him, “sorry.”

jaemin attempts to talk to the new children, “don’t be shy you two, do you need help getting meat?”

shotaro and sungchan shake their heads, getting a few strips on their own. 

seulgi teases, “you’re scaring them jaemin.”

“these two are just very shy,” irene strokes shotaro’s hair.

chenle tries to open up to them too. he knows donghyuck and mark will call him out on this, but he calls the two to show them how to blow bubbles in their juice. chenle lets out a big huff in his straw, and big apple juice bubbles rise towards the top of the cup. shotaro and sunghchan are amused, trying it themselves, alone with jisung. donghyuck then makes chenle stop, taking his cup and straw. seulgi and irene aren’t mad, instead teases chenle’s parents that chenle is being a bad influence. sungchan and shotaro both stop blowing bubbles, setting their cups on the table and continuing to eat. jisung does the same so he won’t get lectured by his parents. 

everyone had a pleasant meal, the kids watching a movie in the living room, while the adults become increasingly intoxicated as time goes by. donghyuck even sets up a game of beer pong on the dining room table while the others do dishes. the kids become worried as they hear their parents whooping and cheering everytime someone make it in the cup, or if the group is telling someone to chug their drink. what’s worse is that donghyuck even put mystery drinks in the mix, irene cursing him out once she got beer and sriracha sauce in her cup. renjun wants to do the same when he suddenly tastes peach soju and soy sauce. somehow jeno never drank from losing, and everyone always tried in their round with him to change that, but they would always lose. luckily jeno was the least drunk so he could send the kids upstairs to sleep while the parents finish their intense game. irene and seulgi clock out once donghyuck wanted to do another game, and it’s clear the party starts to die when renjun puts his head down on the table to sleep. jeno carries renjun in his arms, as he holds jaemin’s as they all go upstairs to go to sleep. mark agreed that they should stop since they will all have hangovers in the morning, dragging donghyuck’s competitive ass up the stairs. carrying him over his back if he has to. like a child, donghyuck kicks and screams, claiming someone kidnapped him while mark hollers at him to shut up since everyone is asleep. it has been a pretty eventful night, even though everyone expected the kids to be more reckless and partying around the house. 

as expected, the kids wake up to the adults stuck in the restrooms of their respective floors retching and heaving out last night’s drinks. the boys file downstairs to go to the bathroom, agreeing amongst themselves to do this throughout the trip. 

a concerned shotaro asks chenle, “are my moms sick?”

“nah, the drinks they had last night were super gross and strong. that’s what my dads tell me when they throw up in the morning after parties or drinking.” chenle answers. 

sungchan’s eyes grow big, “i don’t want to grow up.”

jisung agrees, nodding along with shotaro. 

everyone has breakfast in silence, donghyuck deciding to lock the cabinet filled with alcohol. thankfully jeno and mark were nice enough to make the gang pancakes and waffles. they were less sick looking and groggy than the rest. seulgi is found rubbing irene’s back, jaemin resting on renjun’s shoulder while renjun rests his head on the other’s. the kids thought maybe this is how their parents feel in the morning when getting up for school. especially chenle, who plays video games secretly at night and wakes up as sleepy as his father, the one not making pancakes. jisung asks if they should wake the adults up, the other three shaking their heads, afraid their shouts will cause them to throw up even more. if that was even possible. donghyuck isn’t apparently that sleepy though, the four watching him rise from his slumped position to call out to mark. he wants him to make coffee, the strong one with the most caffeine. jaemin seconds that, telling him he brought his espresso shots from starbucks. renjun hits him in the arm, as if telling him that the coffee will taste disgusting since he knows his bitter coffee order. the kids thought that impact will make jaemin barf on the table, gasping, but it didn’t which was lucky. 

in a matter of minutes the plates are set, and stacks of pancakes and waffles fill the center of the table. jeno even serves his special berry syrup, and regular maple as well. the kids get ready to fill their own plates, but the adults look as if they are on high chairs and need people to serve their food for them. the scent of coffee wakes them up though, filling up their cups with the sweet release of caffeine, the second drug they are all addicted to, jisung notes in his head. it’s as if it was magic too, now that their parents are now wide awake. they are like those animatronics at kid’s arcades, finally moving once they need to announce someone’s birthday. donghyuck devours his stakes of hotcakes, almost choking until mark rubs his back. in unison their parents make a satisfied “mmm” sound once tasting jeno’s famous berry syrup. with fresh berries on top of the cakes and waffles too, this breakfast is a perfect way to start the day.

“boys, we will be going skiing and sledding today!” irene smiles.

the children except jisung cheers, jisung worrying, “like… in the tall mountains?”

jaemin coos, “don’t worry sungie, we won’t be up that high. and i will be there with you the whole time.” 

jisung takes a breath of relief, continuing to finish his stack. 

“have you skied or sled before jaemin?” seulgi asks. 

“i have sled before,” jaemin speaks in between chews, “more into the rollerskating department myself.” 

“he apparently ranked high nationally.” renjun adds. 

jeno kind of felt left out from renjun’s praise, until renjun noticed and told everyone jeno has ranked in the top three in every baking competition he’s entered. renjun rubs his shoulders, as jeno gives him a faint smile. 

renjun is found zipping up one of jisung’s puffy jackets in his and chenle’s room, all while chenle is all dressed up and jumping on the bed. renjun checks up on his son as he is tying his shoes. jisung looks worried, even though his father jaemin told him everything is going to be okay. renjun understands though, jisung is very timid when trying new things. heck, the concert they went to see jaemin for the first time was when jisung was very nervous. he even told his friends about it in school, and they told him to say yes because jaemin is a popular idol. 

“you’ll be fine jisung, we’re all here to ski and sled with you.” renjun smiles. 

jisung pouts, “do i look nervous?”

“like you are about to sing on stage at the school talent show!” chenle butts in. 

“we’ll always be here for you to catch you when you fall, which of course won’t happen because we’ll be with you. from the top of the mountain to the bottom.” renjun pats his tiny head. 

“promise?” jisung sticks his pinky out. 

renjun remembers this same gesture jisung did when they were getting ready to go to the concert. 

“promise.”

the sun is shining, but won’t be enough to melt all the packs of fresh snow being ready to ride on. it truly is a winter wonderland, the mountains at the back having pretty white peaks. there are already families at the bottom making snowmen and having snowball fights, and some practicing on smaller hills to get ready for the bigger ones. jeno suggests to jisung that they start with the smaller ones first, even though chenle was pulling the little one’s arm to do the big ones. jisung agrees with jeno, already holding renjun and jaemin’s hands to grab a sled. chenle pouts, but then ushers shotaro and sungchan to ride with him in the advanced slopes. the two look at each other, then following jisung and his fathers. 

“chenle i don’t think you even fit the height requirement.” mark kneels down next to him. 

“what?!” chenle exclaims, “no one told me about a height requirement. but i’m tall, look, see?”

donghyuck giggles as chenle is now on his tippy toes, but his feet slowly descend due to the pack of snow he’s standing on. 

“i’ll go ask if there’s a height requirement, go with hyuckie and join the others on the mini slopes.” mark suggests. 

chenle holds donghyuck’s hands, pouting and kicking snow on the way. irene and seulgi said they’ll catch up, wanting to get warm drinks first before they do any winter activities. jisung is already at the top of the smallest hill out of the slopes, but looks terrified. 

“want me to help you go down jisung?” jeno asks?

but once he turns around, jeno already sees jisung in between jaemin and renjun on a sled. 

“oh…”

“it’s okay jen, we got it,” renjun smiles, “we can go together after this if you want.”

jeno sighs, “sure.”

jeno doesn’t know why he feels a little hurt inside. it’s just one sleigh ride, but, he’s not with his family. in fact it came out to be more than one sleigh ride, jisung starting to get the hang of it then switching to skis. jeno just heads in the cabin to get some coffee, he won’t disturb irene and seulgi having cocoa though. he didn’t really want to disturb anyone, he wanted to be alone. 

it was until seulgi saw him staring longingly out the window. 

“what’s wrong jen?”

jeno is startled, seulgi now sitting across from him, hand in hand with irene. 

“nothing, i’m just tired is all.” 

“yeah tired from all that sledding and snow fun time sure.” irene teases. 

“they’re having fun without you too.” seulgi adds. 

jeno chuckles, “do you guys have eyes on everything?”

“the mother knows best song ya know?” irene sips her mug. 

“wasn’t mother gothel evil?” jeno blinks. 

“the point is,” seulgi tries to put them back on track, “you are not getting enough love jeno.”

“we are all fine you guys, i’m just not too close to jisung as i thought.” 

“i mean i get it, you and jaemin were both workaholics and couldn’t see jisung all the time. it’s okay if jisung is hesitant to warm up to you.” irene explains. 

seulgi suggests, “maybe he’s timid around you, you can be a little strict sometimes.”

“i’m strict?” jeno asks, “i don’t think i’m that strict…”

“last night you threatened jisung to stop jumping on the bed or the monster under his bed at home will teleport to the one he’s jumping on.” seulgi stirs her cup. 

“how the hell—“

“we live across the hall, remember.” irene smiles. 

“maybe try being more chill jeno?” seulgi shrugs. 

“i guess so….” jeno thinks, “am i really that strict though?”

“i mean i get it, you don’t want jisung to break his neck,” irene agrees with him, “but you should let loose once in a while. he’s growing up and needs to experience things for himself.”

jeno looks out the window, his son with a red nose and rosy cheeks. he probably won’t be able to see this anymore once he’s all grown up. maybe he should take their advice, after all, irene and seulgi are pretty functional parents. shotaro isn’t the type to cause trouble like chenle, or jisung to a degree, but it might just be his personality. shotaro is very shy and likes to keep to himself, but he talks the most and is the most comfortable with sungchan. maybe it’s also because their personalities are similar, hence why jisung can be troublesome to tame since he hangs out with chenle. 

once jeno brings his coffee out into the chilling winter breeze, donghyuck and mark also ask what’s wrong. the two were taking a break from watching their kid now that he’s playing with jeno’s family.  jeno tries not to hide it this time, explaining the situation and wanting advice from them. the two explain that they’re both naturally playful, which is why chenle warmed up to them quicker in the first place once he was adopted. but this playful nature eventually caused chenle to throw caution to the wind, they would at first let him get away with somethings but never anything too dangerous. they suggest jeno to lighten up and let jisung do things, but if he refuses any warnings to let him do it since he could learn from those mistakes. jeno even mentions to them how hard parenting is, and the two agree. even if they only have one they already have a lot and enough experience. donghyuck also suggests to be playful like jaemin, saying that he can be a bit boring and a party pooper at times.  mark elbows him in the rib since he shouldn’t compare jaemin and jeno’s parenting styles. but jeno knows it’s the truth, if he becomes playful like jaemin’s personality though, jisung would think it’s weird or awkward. donghyuck and mark agree with this possibility, but it never hurts to try. 

so he decides to try, trudging towards the slopes in the ankle-deep snow. he sees the four in one big sled, giggling as they reach the bottom. jisung and chenle are sandwiched between jaemin in the front and renjun in the back. the two adults see jeno walk up to them, renjun immediately getting off and apologizing for how long they took. he asks jisung if he wants to ride with jeno on the bigger ones. renjun and jaemin expected jeno to say no and stick with the small ones first to get experience, but they were surprised by his next words. 

“yeah, come on ‘sung it’ll be fun.”

renjun blinks, jaemin raises his eyebrows. 

“why not ya know? jisung has to try bigger things at some point.”

jisung gets off the sled to squeeze renjun’s hand. 

“it’s alright jisung,” renjun pats his head, “jeno will keep you safe, he’s your father remember?”

jeno holds out his hand, after jisung silently walks up to it and takes it, jeno bends down to pick up the sled they were just riding. he promised jisung that they were only going to ride on the next level, not mountain-level of course. and that he’ll keep him safe at all times. when the two walk off, jisung looks back at renjun and jaemin many times, at some points wanting to bail and run back to them. but he also kept looking at jeno’s determined face, understanding he maybe just wants to spend time with him. the little one would still wave and look back at his two other fathers though, as they get smaller and smaller each time. he starts nibbling on his mitten as a force of nervous habit, jeno notices this and asks if he wants him to carry him on his shoulders. jisung shakes his head though, afraid that if he leans back the two might fall backwards and jeno will end up being the sled. jeno laughs at his thoughts, jisung wondering if he really said that out loud without getting a lecture or tongue click. 

now that the two are at the top, jisung sees his other two fathers waving to him at the bottom. they yell cheers at him, waiting patiently for the father and son to slide. jeno suggests to sit at the back, and jisung in the front so he can get the most views. jisung holds tightly onto the reins of the sled, jeno holding it too, in front of jisung’s tiny hands. his position is similar to a back hug, but putting his arms over jisung. once jeno asks if jisung is ready, he gets a nod and off they go. jeno kicks and slides the snow a few times to get to the peak or the curve. the two are going a bit fast since jeno is practically leaning on jisung, making them both lean forward. at the bottom of the hill, renjun gets worried, shouting as loud as he can to lean back. but unfortunately the two can’t hear him, since jeno is trying to make it fun for them by making “woooahh” sounds. jisung doesn’t follow him though, squeezing his eyes shut and staying silent. 

things take a turn for the worst, as they’re about to make it to the ground, jeno doesn’t notice a rock in their path quickly getting closer and closer. his eyes are wide, trying to make the two of them lean towards the right so they can avoid it, but it was too late. the sled hit the rock with a thunk, jisung flying a bit and landing face-first on the snow. jeno thankfully didn’t fly with him upon impact, but instead broke the front of the sled and maybe some of his toes. renjun and jaemin quickly rush to renjun’s aid, the boy is crying now, face red after feeling cold from the snow. 

renjun wipes as many tears as he can, jaemin scooping him into his arms and cooing him. jisung wraps his arms on jaemin’s neck tightly, shaking and sobbing into his shoulder. renjun rubs the little one’s back, as chenle rushes to the scene to ask jisung if he was okay. when he saw him though, jisung already had snot dripping down his nose and tears were streaming down jaemin’s jacket. renjun finally heard jeno’s groans of pain after trying to calm down jisung. as renjun runs up to him, he sees jeno struggling to get up and limping a bit. 

“mark, can you help me? donghyuck can you help jaemin?” renjun asks, slinging jeno’s arm over his shoulders. 

“no, go help jisung…” jeno winces. 

“jisung is with jaemin, he’ll be fine. i need to help you too. we need to get you both inside.” 

the father and son are now warming up by the fireplace in the ski resort cabin, the other families gathering up along with them. chenle never leaves jisung’s side, sitting with him on the armchair and stroking his back. jisung has a blanket over him and a new pair of clothes, and even has a hot cocoa in his hands. jeno is getting bandaged up by renjun, his toes and feet all bruised up. renjun had to put ice on them even though they were already cold, in order to stop the bruises from forming, but jeno couldn’t help but yelp in pain every time the ice pack touched his skin. jeno has a blanket around him too, another coffee in his hands. 

“how did this happen?” donghyuck asks. 

jaemin explains, “someone was being too adventurous.”

jeno could feel jaemin glare down at him as he stares at the fire, “it was an accident.”

“an accident?” jaemin has to laugh, “you leaned forward and didn’t see the rock coming straight out you. it was pretty obvious.”

“maybe i have gotten a little carried away…” jeno scratches the back of his head. 

“a little?! you could’ve gotten jisung killed!” jaemin points at his son. 

renjun gets up to massage jaemin’s shoulders, “alright, let’s just all calm down. what matters is that you’re both okay. let’s just not do this anymore to avoid more injuries.”

jisung clutches his drink in his hands, mumbling, “you promised.”

jeno’s heart stops for a second, “i’m really sorry jisung.”

jisung just sniffles in response. jeno doesn’t know what to do now, but he knows that he made jisung sad, jaemin upset, and maybe renjun disappointed. he doesn’t really have anyone on his side anymore huh?

everytime jeno walks he hisses in pain, with the trip from the cabin to the car in the parking lot. renjun suggests he drives back instead, jeno up in the passenger's seat and jaemin watching over jisung in the back. the car ride was silent, jisung sniffling leftover snot here and there. jeno can see the kid’s puffy, red eyes from the rear view mirror, looking out the window and feeling terrible. at a glance he probably saw jaemin’s solemn, serious, death stare. he’s never really seen jaemin that angry, probably the first being their first fight. renjun just looks tired as he’s taking the wheel, feeling bad for jisung and jeno, especially since jeno just wanted to spend some time with jisung. 

renjun still attempts to break the ice though, “how about we chill out tomorrow? we can build a snowman tomorrow jisung, or just stay home and play games.”

jisung just stares at the floor and nods. renjun’s smile disappears completely with more of a worried look. jeno is just playing with his fingers at this point, while jaemin holds jisung’s little hand tightly, using his other hand to pat and rub the top of it. in jaemin’s point of view, jeno could’ve been a little more careful, especially since it was a bigger hill. jeno also should’ve known not to lean too forward, especially at that speed. and the rock could be clearly seen too, sure jisung could’ve warned him but jisung was too afraid of the speed that he kept his eyes shut the whole time. he wondered what jeno was thinking the whole time, or if he was even thinking at all. he believed it would’ve been better if it was just renjun and himself at that time.

as jaemin carries jisung inside, renjun suggests he carries jeno on his back too. jeno refuses, saying he’s too heavy and can walk on his own fine, but renjun knows every step he takes feels like walking on glass. eventually mark’s family catches up to them, and mark being the oldest and strongest (after jeno) offers to carry him. jeno finally agrees, after renjun and mark kept pushing him to do it, he is injured after all. renjun and jeno don’t find jaemin in their shared room, the shorter then gets a text saying that he’ll take a nap with jisung. mark sets jeno on the bed, and renjun jumps on over with him. they thank the oldest, and start their staring contest with the ceiling, along with a quiet game as well. 

“am i a bad parent?” 

renjun sits up, perplexed with jeno’s question. 

“no! no you’re not jeno, you’re still learning is all.”

“but i hurt jisung, i was being too reckless.”

“we all make mistakes jen,” renjun ruffles his hair, “just be careful next time.”

jeno sighs. 

“i understand your intentions. you were trying to have fun, but yeah i thought you should’ve been more careful as well, since it was jisung’s first time down a bigger hill.”

jeno makes an, “mmn” agreeing sound. 

“but i don’t think jisung got hurt, it’s just snow, it might have been just fear that made him cry.”

“i just… don’t know how to make it up to him. i promised that i’d keep him safe.”

“i know,” renjun lays with him, hugging his torso, “maybe you can get another chance next time. me and jaemin have been occupying jisung quite a bit, maybe i can distract him so you can have time with jisung.”

“yeah…. maybe.” jeno rubs his forehead. 

“let’s just get some rest, today was pretty lively.” renjun droops his eyes to a close. 

jeno smiles, kissing him on top of the head. it’s very rare when he gets alone time with just renjun, and he doesn’t want to miss a second of it. 

in the morning, everyone is at the dining table except jeno, who has to eat in the bedroom since his feet are still numb with pain. renjun would check up on him from time to time, getting him any refills or bringing his dishes down to wash. jaemin slept with jisung in his room to keep him comfy, kind of missing the feeling of hugging renjun in his sleep. jaemin has no idea why renjun is being so attentive towards him, he only sprained his feet and a few toes he can probably walk by now. breakfast is also awkwardly silent as well, only spoons scraping bowls or bites of food, or glugs of drinks. donghyuck got uncomfortable with the asmr atmosphere, asking what is on the schedule today. irene claims that her family and sungchan will take a tour around the mountains, wondering if anyone else wants to come. chenle raises his hand, ultimately making mark and donghyuck go with him. jisung didn’t feel like going, especially since there may be heights involved. so renjun’s family is going to be staying in today, having to take care of jisung and jeno. 

after the meeting is adjourned, all the families disperse into their respective rooms to change. chenle tries to convince jisung to go with them one last time, but jisung always shakes his head no. even though chenle thinks at this point he’ll turn into his no fun dad, he hopes that he’ll feel better so that tomorrow they can hangout again. jisung promises, pinky out and all. chenle is his best friend, and after yesterday he’ll do anything for him since he was there when he was crying. after finding his missing scarf under his bed, chenle waves goodbye, as he slowly walks out the room. he also opens the door at random times to say more goodbyes, not liking this feeling of separation. even though they have seen each other at school before this vacation. 

jaemin recommends that the two watch cartoons in the living room, jisung giving him a slow nod and following him. renjun is washing the remaining dishes, jaemin seeing him and leaving jisung for a second to help. before that he turns on adventure time. 

“need help injun?”

“thanks jaemin,” renjun hands him a clean plate to put on the drying rack, “how come you didn’t sleep with us last night?”

“well i didn’t want to leave my poor jisungie alone.”

“chenle is with him though remember.”

“but… the more the merrier you know!”

“is this because of jeno?”

jaemin pauses, huffing, “you mean the clumsy guy upstairs?”

renjun is worried by this switch of tone. jaemin went from his pouty, whiny voice, to a more serious one. 

“jaemin, you know it’s not his fault.”

“all of this would’ve been avoidable if he wasn’t so careless!” jaemin whisper screams so jeno won’t have to hear him from upstairs. 

“i know, but jeno was just trying to have fun.”

“was it fun for jisung?”

“jaemin.”

“i mean think about it, put yourself in jisung’s shoes. you would be a frightened little kid trying out something you’ve never done before.”

“well put yourself in jeno’s too, trying to connect with your son by trying to do something fun.”

“god, why are you taking jeno’s side, don’t you care about your own son?”

“jaemin don’t start.”

“i’m serious!” jaemin is raising his voice now, “why do you care about jeno’s well being right now?”

“because maybe you won’t really look into someone else’s perspective.” 

the two turn around to find jeno at the bottom of the steps. 

“oh great, you here to make things worse?” jaemin rolls his eyes. 

“you always think you’re so perfect, that you can connect with jisung so well. i bet you’re just doing it so you can get brownie points from renjun.”

“excuse me?!” jaemin’s hands are on his hips, “i have cared about jisung’s well being since he was lost at that concert.”

“just so you can score a date.” jeno sneers. 

“you practically did the same thing!” jaemin is flabbergasted, “giving jisung literal brownies all so you could hangout with renjun!”

“god, you’re so fucking low.” jeno glares him down. 

“just admit it jeno! all you want is renjun to yourself so you try to get rid of jisung by pulling that stunt.”

renjun tries to stop this, “guys,”

“why the hell would you think i did that on purpose?!”

“guys.”

“because you’re totally not an idiot that can’t ride a fucking sled.”

“stop! enough! oh my god!”

the two are about to have a possible fist fight until renjun pushes them both backwards. 

“listen to yourselves! why would you think that about each other?!” renjun lectures, “why is this suddenly a competition for jisung? for me?”

jeno looks at the ground, jaemin does the same. 

“you two are probably so loud right now, jisung might even be hear—where’s jisung?”

jeno and jaemin whirl around, no one is sitting on the couch and the television is still on. the three start filing into the living room, calling out to their kid. but once renjun feels a draft behind him, he realizes the front doors are open. his heart just sinks, kept on sinking until it has probably hit the ground by now. jisung has probably run off outside. in the cold. in the snow. without even the slightest bit of hesitation, renjun just flings himself out the door, no coat, sweater, scarf, or gloves. calling out jisung’s name in the front porch, even going as far as across the street. the other two stop him though, renjun trying to pry out of their grasp desperately, his son has run away and he needs to do something about it. he starts crying, nose turning red and tears warming up is face against the bitter wind. they keep telling him to go back inside and wear warm clothes, but renjun is on his knees now, cursing at himself that he didn’t keep a good eye on his child. 

jeno and jaemin look at each other for a split second, and even after turning away knowing this was their fault. if they hadn’t fought in the kitchen, the room probably closest to the living room, none of this would have happened. jisung wouldn’t have gotten scared and just ran away. jaemin makes a plan, since jeno can’t properly walk he should stay at the house in case jisung comes back. jaemin and renjun will split up to look for him themselves. as they change for the cold and snowy temperatures, renjun has his phone pressed tightly between his ear and shoulder. he’s calling donghyuck and telling him what happened, the rest of the family hearing in probably, since they all gasped collectively. irene even stops the tour bus and demands the driver to take them back to the parking lot. luckily the tour barely even started. 

once the two families are at the cabin, they decide to leave the kids with jeno so the adults can help with the search. chenle kept protesting, demanding donghyuck that he wanted to help and that jisung will turn up faster knowing he’s out there to find him. but mark have him a firm no, not wanting chenle to get lost himself and that it was safer at the cabin. chenle crosses his arms and sits himself angrily on the living room sofa. shotaro and sungchan are just as worried as he is, when the adults leave they ask their uncle jeno if everything will be okay. jeno hopes so, rubbing their backs to not stress so much. 

jaemin drops off renjun at the ski resort to look there, while jaemin drives around the neighborhoods and parks to see if their kid is wandering around. donghyuck and mark are going to the other parks and frozen lakes as well, while irene and seulgi head to the town and local shops to look. it’s been an hour since they started, and no sign of him. they even start asking the locals if they have seen jisung, showing a picture they had on their phones, but no one has seen him at all. donghyuck and mark meet up with irene and seulgi to get a quick bite, jaemin calls renjun telling him they should eat too, but renjun refuses, continuing his search. he even makes an announcement at the ski resort, the place where announcers tell what’s happening during sports events. he sees the crowd below worried for him, some helping to look for little jisung. 

three hours, and no one is home yet. only jeno and the kids, watching television and feeling anxious. jeno just stares into space as he looks at the screen, feeling numb in every part of his body. his nervous leg isn’t helping him either, bouncing up and down even though the pressure to do so hurts jeno’s foot. shotaro and sungchan are napping in their rooms, while chenle is worried for his uncle jeno, glancing at him from time to time to see if he’s okay. but his unblinking eyes and eye bags serve him not feeling okay at all. 

jeno just thinks, thinks of where jisung could be. by foot he couldn’t make it home at this time, but he could if he hitchhiked. that would be absurd though, jisung willing enough to get into a stranger’s car. he wants to pound his head with his fists, to try to make his brain work of possibilities as to where jisung could be. he shoves the negatives way in the back of his brain, that he could be kidnapped or shivering in the cold. he doesn’t want to believe it and only hopes. then he remembers something, a little detail. 

it was snowing one day, in neo city. jisung was very young, when jeno was renjun’s only boyfriend. little jisung was looking out the window, a day where there was little snow falling, but fresh snow that packed the yards of every house. 

jeno smiles, jisung touching parts of the window where he sees tiny snowflakes dancing in the air, as if catching them. he sits next to him on the window seat. 

“you know you can build a snowman at this time.” jeno tells him. 

jisung raises an eyebrow. 

“it’s not snowing hard, and there’s enough to make a big one. what do you say?”

jisung shrugs. 

“have you build a snowman before?”

jisung shakes his head no. 

“well, that will make it more fun, come on.”

to jisung’s surprise, he thought they were going to make an actual man from snow, body and everything. but it was just two spheres stacked on top of each other which is easier. jeno would teach him out to put stones to make the smile, a carrot for the nose, buttons as the eyes, and sticks from a fallen tree as the arms. 

“now you can put clothes on him if you want, mainly accessories so he doesn’t get cold.”

jisung thinks, running back in and coming moments later with a scarf and his favorite beanie. he even has mittens given to him as a present from his secret santa at school. 

“you’re giving the snowman your favorite things?” jeno asks. 

“he needs them more than me.” jisung starts putting the items on, gently, like how renjun does it when they go outside when it snows. 

the two stand back to look at their creation. 

“what do you want to name him?” 

jisung scratches his head, “andy.”

“andy?” jeno chuckles a bit, “that’s a nice name. nice to meet you andy.”

“i see that andy’s back.”

jisung is startled, a jolt almost causing him to jump out of his position. he felt that out of all the people who would’ve found them by now didn’t turn out to be his papa. he hides behind andy once he saw him. jeno walks towards the boy and his snowman, keeping his distance in case, and crouching down to squat. andy was smaller than the first time they made him, with little pebbles as the mouth and eyes, twigs for arms, and a pointy stick as the nose. 

“i wanna stay here with andy.” jisung keeps patting andy’s snow to make the shape even. 

“why?” jeno asks. 

“because he won’t fight others,” jisung sighs, “and he has no friends except me.”

jeno purses his lips, a thin line showing on his mouth. he feels like he just got punched in the stomach the way it just dropped. 

“i’m sorry i didn’t keep my promise jisung,” jeno starts, “but to be honest, i’ve never rode on a sled until today.”

jisung blinks, now showing himself and on andy’s side. 

“yeah,” jeno looks away, “i didn’t know what i was doing, and i should have let your dads take you down instead of me.”

“why did you though?”

“because i wanted to spend time with you,” jeno admits, “even if i was a bit scared and haven’t done it before i wanted to do it with you.”

jisung starts feeling guilty. lately he has been avoiding his papa, he’s been pretty strict with him at the start, and this change in carelessness and curiosity confused jisung a bit. but now he only knows he did it because he wanted some alone time. jaemin has occupied most of his playtime, he has to admit, but jaemin lets him get away with anything way more than his papa. he can see how it’s unfair. 

“i’m sorry papa.”

“no! no, jisung don’t be, it’s okay,” jeno holds the little one’s shoulders, “i get it, i can be intimidating or scary sometimes. but only when i want you to be more careful.”

“i understand.”

“how about i be less of a helicopter parent, and you spend time with me too? starting now, with andy, to get him all bundled up.”

jisung nods, taking the scarf from the pile of clothes jeno held in his arms. jisung thought it was only for himself since he isn’t properly prepared for the cold, but there was extra beanies, gloves, and scarves for the snowman as well. 

as they start wrapping the items around andy, jisung asks, “how did you find me?”

“well, in the car, i noticed at the entrance you were staring at this part of land for a while. i even wanted to ask you if you wanted to build an andy later on.” 

“really?”

“yeah, i thought you wouldn’t remember though. do you still like the name andy?”

“yes, i think it suits him.”

jeno giggles, “me too.”

the two stand back to get a good look at andy, he is about half of jisung’s height, but still resembles the last time they made him. jeno even had a carrot within his pile of clothes, so they replaced the sharp wooden nose with that one. as a finishing touch, jisung engraves a little signature on andy’s body, just the two letters, J and S to make the acronym of his name. jisung runs back to jeno’s side, jeno giving him a side hug and feeling good about their creation. 

“do we have to go back?” jisung puts a finger in his mouth. 

“yes we do,” jeno sighs, “renjun and jaemin have been worried sick.” 

“oh.” jisung twiddles his pointer fingers. 

“we won’t fight anymore, if that’s what you are concerned about.”

“were you mad…. because i didn’t spend time with you.”

“jisung,” jeno takes a knee to match his height, “you’re not at fault, never. it’s really me, i am just strict and uptight because i want to keep you safe, and i want you to be a good person.”

“but,” jisung argues, “you and daddy are mad at each other, because of me and renjun.”

“no, it’s not like that,” jeno rubs his arms, “i just said those things because i was angry. when you’re angry, sometimes you can say things that you don’t really mean. and i regret them very much.”

jisung thinks, looking at the ground. 

“hey, when we get home, i promise, for real this time, to patch things up with jaemin okay?”

jisung takes his pinky with his own, “okay.”

“want to go on my back? you have run quite far.”

“yes please.”

jisung hops on jeno’s back and is hoisted up. the two wave goodbye to andy, and it seemed that in a way, andy waved back to the two of them too. jeno must have been a bit hungry, probably starting to see things. jisung looks back at andy, making sure he’s there even though he became tinier and tinier. once he was gone completely, jisung faced to the front and set his chin on jeno’s right shoulder. jeno then remembers to call renjun right away, so they all don’t have to look for jisung anymore. but, he feels like he’ll get a firm lecture from him once renjun realizes the kids are home alone. so he picks up the pace, maybe coming back before they do. the little voice in his head keeps nagging at him to tell the truth though, so he pulls out his phone and dials. 

“hello? jeno?”

“renjun, i found jisung.”

“you did?! oh my god, thank goodness. did he come back to the house?”

“not exactly…” jeno laughs awkwardly, “i went out to look for him.”

“you left the kids at home?!” 

“i’m sorry, okay, i just remembered where he would go if he ran off. what matters is that we found him. go call the rest and tell them to get home.”

“okay, just get home quickly, i don’t want anything to happen with the other kids. jisung?”

jeno turns his phone on speaker. 

“dad?”

“jisung!” renjun cries out in joy, “you’re okay! please don’t do that again i was scared sick.”

“i’m sorry dad.”

“oh, no, jisung it’s not your fault. we were fighting and you got scared. we didn’t want you to hear or see this side of us, we’re sorry. once we get home we can do whatever you want to do okay?”

“okay.” jisung returns the phone back to his papa. 

“we’ll be okay renjun. go back to the cabin now.”

“on my way.”

when jeno and jisung finally returned, the two families were there except his own. everyone’s worrying faces disappear instantly once seeing jisung walk through the front door. they are all now relieved, chenle squeezing jisung until he accidentally cracked his back. the kids immediately head into another room to play, while the adults ask jeno if he’s alright and set him down to the living room for hot cocoa. they also give him a stern talking about leaving their kids alone, but jeno told them he really remembered where jisung would be and would come home straight away if he was or wasn’t there. jeno also remembered he had the option of calling their parents before going out, so it really was something out of pure adrenaline and only coffee in his system. he apologizes to all of them, but the understand since jeno is willing to do anything for his kid. they would have probably done the same. 

jeno asks where renjun and jaemin were, but the others thought they were with jeno. donghyuck tries to calm him down, telling them they might be in some traffic jam or that the snow is pretty packed on the streets. 

but irene directs their attention to the window, “guys, it doesn’t look too good outside.”

out of nowhere, mother nature decides to brew a snowstorm. snow starts falling rapidly, when it was just calm as jeno and jisung made it back to the cabin. 

“oh god, what if they’re stuck out there.” mark worries. 

“if they make it out there fast enough they can make it,” seulgi thinks, “but the snow will be more packed at how fast it’s falling.”

so the adults decide to wait patiently, they can’t go outside to see if jaemin and renjun are okay, or they might be stuck in the blizzard as well. but minutes turn into hours, and jeno becomes restless. he can’t let this happen again, especially with his husbands. so he stands up and claims he’s going to look for them. but of course, the adults object and make him sit once more, so he can rest his feet since they’re still injured. they’ll turn out worse if jeno goes out again. to help him, the parents start making phone calls to jeno’s lost husbands. they didn’t seem to pick up though, each time the four would get a voicemail message. donghyuck would be the only one to leave voicemails each time, while mark texts instead after calling numerous times. 

eventually it was night time, and jeno could only hope that jaemin and renjun are probably parked somewhere and waiting out for the storm to settle. he feels guilty eating dinner, being warm, and having a roof over his head. while renjun probably hasn’t had lunch and the car would be freezing. they can’t turn on the heater for a prolonged time, or else the car’s battery will run out. so jeno makes another stupid decision. bring warmth and food to them. 

once everyone is asleep in the cabin, jeno sneaks out. the storm is still strong as ever, but jeno doesn’t care. he’s going to wait out the blizzard with his husbands, carrying containers of soup, ramen, and snacks in his backpack. he even brings sweaters, jackets, scarves, and carries blankets in his arms. to make sure his toenails won’t fall off or something due to the cold, before his trip he wraps his feet with elastic bandages, underneath socks so hopefully it can add another layer of warmth to his feet. renjun’s phone is also still on, so jeno can use a tracker to find where they are, and they’re not that far from here, probably a couple blocks down at the shop center. 

it’s hard to see anything in this storm, combined with the fact that it’s midnight, everything is pitch black and his phone flashlight isn’t helping much. but as long as he keeps trudging and staying along on where he thinks is the sidewalk, he’ll be fine. he knows when a car will come if they have their headlights on. there were a few cars that past him, able to drive over the snow somehow and not sink or get stuck. jeno feels that what he’s wearing isn’t enough to keep him warm, eventually using the blankets to wrap around his body and keep on going. 

after what feels like years of walking, the tracker shows that jeno is getting close to renjun’s phone. he squints, shining the flashlight on the closet things he sees. fire hydrant, streetlight, bench, and finally some parked cars in a circular driveway. he tries to find the family car, and there it is way in the back as he walks further. all the cars are surrounded by snow, he checked each one to see if any other people were in there, but the four were empty except the fifth. jeno gently taps on the window where renjun is in the passenger’s seat. with his mittens on it isn’t enough, so he takes one hand off and knocks again. this time renjun stirs, and eventually screams suddenly, waking up jaemin too. so jeno takes off the scarf covering his mouth and waves, renjun clutching his heart and unlocking the back doors. jeno hops in quickly and shuts it fast so snow or cold air wouldn’t seep in. 

“jeno? what are you doing here? it’s so late.” renjun asks. jaemin is still rubbing his eyes and is presumably half asleep. 

“i know it’s late,” jeno starts taking out the essentials out of his backpack, “but i can’t let you guys starve or freeze to death so i brought sustenance.”

“but that means you’re gonna be stuck with us too!” renjun furrows his eyebrows. 

“would that be so bad?” jeno smiles, “now come on, i brought you food and lots of layers.”

“oh thank god.” renjun snatched the warm container full of ramen, literally only having water and a few snacks found in the car in his body. 

jaemin takes a bowl too, the both of them starving due to the amount of slurps they are taking. their chopsticks are moving fast as well, not even taking the time to chew. jeno helps them out by wrapping sweaters over them and putting blankets over their legs. it was a silent and late dinner for the three, renjun going for the backpack once again to grab chips like a needy raccoon. this makes jeno and jaemin laugh, the two looking at each other for a split second, but then looking away. jeno is still sure jaemin has a big grudge on him, and he can’t blame him. 

“why did you decide to come here though?” jaemin asks after a long, contemplating silence. 

“i can’t just leave you two stranded, and i bet you’ve not had lunch.” jeno explains. 

jaemin continues, “yeah but, you could’ve stayed with jisung at least and waited.”

“jisung is with chenle,” jeno claims, “and with the rest of the families. he’s okay, but not you guys.”

another round of the silent game. this time jaemin finished his share of ramen, placing his bowl and chopsticks on the dashboard and reclining his seat. 

“jeno… about earlier… i’m sorry.”

jeno blinks and looks up in the front, “i’m sorry too.”

“it’s just, i only get protective or serious when jisung gets hurt you know?”

“yeah, i do too.”

“but it just felt like, you were being so reckless around him. like you didn’t take it seriously.”

“i know, and i wasn’t trying to, i was trying to be the fun dad, like you.”

jaemin’s eyes widen, looking back at the rear view mirror now. 

“i’m the serious one all the time, i always say no to jisung and you let him get away with stuff. i thought that… that if i had that mindset too, he’d like me.”

“jeno, of course he likes you.” 

“you’re like jisung’s best friend at this point, while with me and jisung, it feels like we just met and are expected to get along.”

“jeno i, i didn’t mean for you to feel that way.”

“i know, it’s just…” jeno chuckles painfully, “i don’t want to be a bad dad. and i feel that way whenever jisung is scared of me, or when you joke about me being boring..”

“oh, jeno i’m so sorry. i thought that was more of a joke between us, you know? i didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

“i just don’t know what to do now.”

renjun opens the car door to sit in the back seat. he hugs his husband, who’s now crying his eyes out. 

“why haven’t you talked about this jeno?” the oldest asks, stroking his hair. 

jeno sniffs, “i don’t want to disrupt what you, jaemin, and jisung have.”

“well you should,” jaemin joins the two in the backseat now, “because we don’t want to exclude you in this family.”

“when you’re stern with jisung, it means that you really care for him and want him to be a good person, to make good choices.” renjun adds. 

“in fact i wish that i had your seriousness.” jaemin admits. 

“you… do?” jeno rubs his eyes. 

“yes! i mean, sometimes it’s hard for me to say no to jisung. how can i, i don’t want to upset him. but when you take on that role it gives me relief because i don’t have the heart to tell him no sometimes. but i don’t want to do that anymore now i know that  it puts pressure on you.”

renjun grabs jeno’s hand, “jeno, you have to know that you are a great parent. both you and jaemin. you two are still learning too, there really is no set guide on parenting because everyone has their own way of taking care of their child. and you two knew you were going to be parents when you wanted to marry me. and you never gave up when it was too hard, or left me and jisung entirely.”

jeno playfully holds onto renjun’s sides and places him in the middle seat so jaemin and jeno could cuddle him close. jaemin snakes his arm across renjun’s torso to latch onto jeno’s arm. 

“there is no such thing as the perfect parent, but you two are perfect for jisung. i would know, because i trust in you both.” 

the two start squeezing the daylights out of renjun. even though what he said was pretty cheesy, it was enough to warm themselves throughout the rest of the night. the three all sleep peacefully sitting next to each other, and it seemed while they were all talking, the snowfall outside calmed and came to a stop once they fell asleep. 

the morning sun eventually flashes upon renjun, since he’s in the middle he doesn’t have a seat in front of him to cover the bright rays. his arms feel numb after jeno and jaemin have been latching onto them all night. he shakes off their firm grip and stretches to crack his elbows. this movement wakes up the other two slowly, their hairs placed in different directions, which was weird since there was not much room to move. they each say their good mornings, rubbing their eyes and yawning. renjun even forgot they were in a car. he reaches for his phone on the dashboard to check the time, he’s wide awake now that it’s nine in the morning. he jolts up to check the windows, seeing the snow has decreased overnight, and that the streets are finally clear. he could even see the little crumbs of salt scattered around to melt the snow. behind him, jeno and jaemin are sleeping once more, he wakes them up excitedly, like a little kid on christmas morning. 

“guys! we can go back home, wake up!” renjun shakes their shoulders.

“mmf?” jeno rises from his seat. jaemin rubs his eyes once more and looks out the window. 

jeno and jaemin look at each other, jaemin exclaims, “we can go back home!”

they all practically jump out of their seats, jaemin running for the driver’s seat and renjun to the passengers. jeno delays being ecstatic though, his feet still hurt and are sore from all that walking. renjun recommends that they replace the wrap he’s wearing, grabbing his legs and putting them on the compartment in the middle, where they store gum, loose change, and chargers inside. jeno yelps after feeling his legs being grabbed and pulled to the front, renjun puts on fresh socks for him, since the ones he felt were wet from walking in the knee-deep snow. once jaemin starts the engine, jeno turns on his phone, receiving multiple calls and texts on his home page. he plays donghyuck’s voicemails out loud. the first six out of ten were worried ones, the last four were the most recent, of donghyuck realizing jeno’s plan, but he still lectures him. they were all from this morning, the first one starting at eight forty-five am and so on to now. the two at the front laugh at donghyuck’s worrying and name calling. calling jeno insane and crazy, to a no good flirt since jeno pretty much did it to spend time with renjun. but he would like to argue when they get back to the cabin, he was more concerned about their health. 

the three knock on the door in unison, making it back around five minutes flat. they find jisung on the other side of the door and pile on him, hugging his tiny body until there is no air in his lungs. 

“jisung please don’t ever do that again.” renjun starts shedding tears. 

“we’re sorry we scared you jisungie.” jaemin pats his tiny head. 

“we won’t do it again.” jeno rubs his back. 

“i’m sorry i ran away. i didn’t know how to make you stop fighting.” jisung explains. 

“if that happens again,” renjun tells him sternly, “please stop us if you can, or go tell an adult to stop us.”

“you could have called back jeno.” donghyuck crosses his arms, following behind jisung. 

“i never knew you would be so worried about me, i’m flattered.” jeno grins. 

“you walk a mile in snow and now you talk crazy!” donghyuck jokes. 

“what he means to say is,” mark joins in, “we’re glad you guys are back.”

“wow jeno, that was so brave of you rushing into the cold to save jaemin and renjun.” seulgi clasps her hands and sighs. 

“very heroic.” irene adds. 

“you saved dad and daddy?” jisung asks jeno.

“well i wanted to! and sorry for leaving you alone like that.” jeno scoops him up. 

“jisungie, you’re papa is so brave!” jaemin coos, “i probably would have fainted if he didn’t get there soon!”

“we were sleeping before he got there.” renjun cringes. 

donghyuck changes the subject, “we have leftovers from breakfast if you guys are hungry.”

“are you kidding,” renjun rushes with him to the kitchen, “i could eat the whole fridge if i could.”

“maybe ramen isn’t that sustainable.” mark pats jeno on the back.

“well i was in a hurry okay. what did you want me to make, flatbread-brick-oven pizza?” jeno pouts. 

jaemin, jeno, and renjun then bring their plates along to the living room. they pile on the couch to squeeze jisung once more, the little one pushing them off every so often to breathe. the whole family is watching a kid’s christmas movie, each member toasty and warm, now that donghyuck is passing around hot cocoa. Chenle’s feet pitter and patter to the kitchen to grab the popcorn, offering the bag to the kids who are now sitting on the floor. everyone decides to chill today, the bounty hunt yesterday had them exhausted. even if the kids want to play in the snow after the movie, the adults all agreed to just watch them from the porch. donghyuck still complains about his ankles hurting from the constant search, earning apologies from jisung and immediately forgiving him with cheek pinches. 

the adults eventually joined the snow ball fight the kids raved excitedly about. mainly because irene saw chenle punt her kid with a snowball and declared war on the lee family. three forts are created to protect each other, sometimes jaemin would tell jisung to sneak to shotaro and sungchan’s wall and attack them at that close range. seulgi even finds a stick that could make a good slingshot, using her scarf to tie the two ends to catapult snowballs at every direction. after an hour and a half, they decide to call it a tie, the sweat combined with numb hands made an uncomfortable feeling. they all take a group nap after, the cabin filling with snores and stirs. 

they wake up around dinner time, playing games while eating. that night as everyone is about to sleep, jeno, jaemin, and renjun notice jisung going upstairs. maybe he needs something, but what he says surprises the three. 

“can i sleep with you guys?”

jaemin scoops him up, “we’d love for you to join us.”

“if you don’t hog up the space.” jeno jokes

“chenle won’t be lonely?” renjun asks. 

“he’ll be okay,” jisung explains, “he’s fend off monsters before.”

the three chuckle, jaemin hoisting jisung up the bed and giving him a spot in the middle. renjun would be on his right, jaemin on his left, and jeno next to renjun. the family snuggles up together, putting layers of blankets to warm themselves up. renjun rests his arm over jisung’s body to reach jaemin’s, jaemin latches onto his as jeno kisses and plays with renjun’s ear. they all suddenly hear the grandfather clock downstairs, chiming twelve times. 

jisung gasps, then whispers, “it’s christmas!”

the three are suddenly awake, remembering what this vacation week was really about. but then they remembered that they put jisung’s gifts in a separate suitcase in the trunk of the car. 

“merry christmas ji.” renjun kisses his son’s cheek. 

“merry christmas jisung!” jaemin hugs him. 

“we know it wasn’t the best christmas…” jeno scratches his head. 

jisung disagrees, “i think this year was more special. because my dads are together again.”

“even more than last year?” jaemin asks. 

jisung nods, “at least this year you’re here on time.”

renjun laughs at jisung’s comeback, the other two tickling jisung’s sides. they never expected to get a teasing from their son, who knew he was so witty. 

“well jisung, you’ll never have to worry about us not making it for the holidays.” jaemin proudly proclaims. 

“that’s right,” jeno agrees, “we’ll always make sure to make time for you. even after the holidays.”

“really?” jisung asks. 

“really,” jaemin smiles, “we hope you don’t mind.”

“i don’t,” jisung yawns, “it’s the best gift ever.”